Wrath of the Furies

XXII

There is a certain sound one hears when everyone residing in a great house is suddenly alert and on the move. It reverberates almost like a distant stampede of horses. It is the combined footsteps of every kitchen worker and scrub maid and handmaiden and stable boy and scribe and tutor and every other kind of slave coming from all corners to assemble, in this case, in the large garden at the center of the house of Eutropius.

Why is it customary for the entire household to assemble when certain personages visit the master of the house? I suppose it shows off the wealth of the host-men are often judged by how many slaves they own-but it also serves to spread the mystique of the visitor. For years afterward, and wherever they might go, those who were present at that moment would be able to say, “I saw her with my own eyes. I beheld Queen Monime.”

Leaving me behind, Amestris and Freny joined in this orderly rush, as did Anthea, whom I saw from the back as she strode quickly but gracefully down the hallway toward the stairs to the garden. Her hair was indeed impressive, even seen from the back. By some magic of twisted braids and unseen pins it hovered atop her head like a golden cloud.

Perhaps it would have been wiser for me to lock myself in the room where I had been talking with Amestris, but curiosity got the better of me. I, too, wanted to have a look at Queen Monime and her retinue.

Staying in the shadows of the upper landing of the stairway, I had a view of the far side of the garden below, toward the front of the house. It seemed likely that this was where Monime would appear, for the rest of the garden and the surrounding portico were occupied by the assembled household-so I presumed from the sounds I could hear, for though I couldn’t see very many of the people in the garden below, I could hear the murmur of their whispered conversations. There seemed to be a great many of them. When I had been a guest in this house, I had no idea that so many slaves were all around me, staying out of sight. Thus it is in such households, where every need of the master and his guests are met, as if by invisible servants. Only when they all assemble in one place does one realize how many human beings it takes to keep such a household running.

The hubbub grew louder, then abruptly diminished as everyone fell silent. Two figures came into view, facing away from me and toward the front of the house. By her golden cloud of hair I recognized Anthea. Though I could not see his face, the man standing beside her had to be her father. Eutropius was also blond, though with a great deal of silver amid the gold.

A tall, white-haired chamberlain appeared, dressed in the regalia of the royal court. His ringing voice compelled the attention of everyone present.

“Her Majesty, consort to the King of Kings, Queen Monime, accompanied by His Eminence, the Grand Magus, and also by His Eminence, the Great Megabyzus, calls upon Eutropius of Ephesus and his daughter Anthea.”

One of Eutropius’s slaves, obviously chosen for his strong, distinctive voice, stepped forward. “My master, Eutropius of Ephesus, and his daughter, the lovely Anthea, are most honored to receive Her Majesty, Queen Monime, and are humbled by the presence of Their Eminences, the Grand Magus and the Great Megabyzus.”

A moment later, the three visitors stepped forward into the soft lamplight of the garden. Acutely aware that I was wearing a bright yellow tunic, and that even at a distance one of them might recognize me, I stepped back a bit, deeper into the shadows. What sort of visit was this, that brought not just the queen but also the two most powerful religious authorities in the city? Eutropius happened to look over his shoulder, so that I caught a brief glimpse of his face. His expression was nervous, and his posture was very stiff.

There followed a great deal of bowing and other formalities, all of which seemed to have been rehearsed by Eutropius and the household ahead of time. Despite the fact that I had seen all three of the visitors at close quarters, and knew them to be nothing more than mortals like myself, there was something strangely awe-inspiring about the sight of them standing there, with Monime in the middle and the wise men to either side of her.

The queen was considerably shorter than either of her escorts, especially the Great Megabyzus with his towering headdress, but she compensated for this with a truly astonishing costume of purple silk shot with gold and silver threads; part of it clung to her body like a normal gown, but there was also a huge, fan-shaped collar of the same fabric that loomed behind her, framing her face and shoulders. Around her wrists and neck she wore bands of gold set with precious stones; the pieces looked as if they had been fitted for a woman twice her size. The oversized jewelry and the weirdly elaborate costume looked out of place with the simple purple and white fillet of wool that served as her crown, or perhaps their outlandishness was intended to emphasize the crown’s simplicity. If the intent of the costume was to draw every eye to the smooth, moon-white face of Monime, it achieved its purpose. She gazed at the household of Eutropius with half-closed eyes and a cryptic smile.

The formal introductions came to an end. Eutropius beckoned to the slave who had spoken on his behalf and gave him some sort of instructions. Strain as I could, I was unable to overhear what Eutropius said, but from what followed it seemed that he wished to dismiss all the slaves except those who were needed for further service. There was a sound of rustling as the crowd began to disperse. But when Monime saw what was happening, she stepped forward.

“No one is to leave!” she said. Her voice, which had seemed rather small when I met her, filled the garden. The sound of rustling stopped at once. “Let all the household slaves stay where they are.”

Eutropius was clearly agitated. “Your Majesty, I don’t quite understand. I had thought this visit was to be … of a more informal nature.”

“Then you were mistaken.”

“I didn’t expect the presence of Their Eminences-”

“The participation of the Grand Magus and the Great Megabyzus is absolutely essential. I’m surprised the king did not make more clear to you the sacred nature of this visit.”

“Sacred?” Eutropius’s voice broke oddly on the word, as if he had begun to anticipate something dreadful.

“What could be more sacred, or more serious, than the sacrifice that is to take place in the Grove of the Furies? You do know the sacrifice I refer to, and the reason for it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. But what-”

“You know that the king has delegated to me the sacred responsibility for assembling the proper participants for this ritual?”

“Yes, His Majesty did inform me-”

“And I have been diligently at work toward that end. I am pleased to say that all the participants have been duly selected … except for one.”

“One, Your Majesty?” Eutropius’s voice was so strained I hardly recognized it.

“The most important. The sacrifice herself. The virgin sacrifice.”

Eutropius appeared to shrink. His shoulders slumped and his head fell forward. Though I saw him only from the back, I could imagine a look of fear and anguish on his face. All at once I realized what he was anticipating. I let out a gasp and then covered my mouth, fearing I had been heard in the garden. But the attention of everyone present was riveted on the strange drama taking place between Eutropius and the queen. Monime herself was staring at someone in the assembly before her.

I looked at Anthea, standing stiffly upright beside her father. I saw that she had begun to tremble and to clench her fists.

“Anthea!” I whispered, too quietly for anyone but myself to hear.

A virgin was required for whatever ritual was intended in the Grove of the Furies, the ritual to which I had been selected to pay mute witness. But how would I be able to stand by in silence and witness the slaughter of beautiful, innocent Anthea? I had rescued her once from death. To think I could do so again was surely hubris. It seemed a cruel joke of the gods that I would be made to witness the destruction of a life I once had saved.

“Please, Your Majesty,” said Eutropius. His small voice was so choked with emotion he could barely speak. He swayed slightly, as if he felt faint. “The necessity of the sacrifice I do not question. It will be essential, if we are to … to take the actions desired by His Majesty. But surely there must be some other suitable candidate for this role.”

“At every step, I have conferred with Their Eminences,” said Monime. “The leading astrologers of the court have also been consulted. What we do, we do not do lightly. Divine will and the aspects of the stars themselves affirm all the choices that have been made.”

“But … surely you don’t need to take my child, my only child, a girl who longs for a pure life devoted to the service of Artemis-my beautiful Anthea!”

Monime threw back her head and laughed.

I heard gasps from the gathered household-what monstrous amusement could the queen find in Eutropius’s suffering?

Monime seemed to enjoy the consternation caused by her incongruous laughter, for she let the uncomfortable silence linger, surveying the faces of those assembled in honor of her visit, until her gaze fixed upon someone I could not see.

“You may put your fears to rest,” she finally said. “Your daughter, however worthy she might be, has not been chosen for this honor. I pray that the beautiful Anthea will enjoy a long and healthy life in the service of the virgin goddess.”

Eutropius released a giddy noise of relief. But next to him, I saw that Anthea continued to tremble, and to clench her hands. Amestris came into my sight as she stepped forward and joined her mistress-a breach of protocol in the presence of the queen, perhaps, but she could not resist offering comfort to her mistress. Or so I thought, at first; but as they drew very close and one put their arms around each other, it seemed to me that that it was Anthea comforting Amestris, not the other way around.

Then I realized what they had already grasped.

Before I has whispered the name of Anthea. Now I whispered another. “Freny!”

“The virgin we have come for is not your daughter, Eutropius,” said the Great Megabyzus, stepping forward. “It is one of the slaves in your household. Her name is Freny, I believe.”

Amestris let out a choking sob. How I wanted to hold her at that moment! But it was Anthea who held her tightly-not just to comfort her, but also to restrain her, for a number of armed men now appeared in the garden, striding past Eutropius, heading toward his assembled slaves. There was some sort of commotion that I couldn’t see, and a moment later the armed men began to lead Freny away.

They did not drag her; their coercion was subtler than that, as one on each side held her by a shoulder and the others formed a tight cordon around her. As the group passed Amestris and Anthea, Amestris frantically reached toward her sister, but Anthea held her back. The two women shook with weeping.

Just before she disappeared from sight, Freny looked over her shoulder. I saw the terror on her face.

“I expected rejoicing in this house, not tears,” said Monime in a frigid voice. “Perhaps, Eutropius, you need to explain to your family and slaves just what an honor this is for your house, that one among you should be chosen to take part in a ritual that is essential to the freedom and safety of Ephesus-not only Ephesus, but all the world. The King of Kings will eliminate every last remaining Roman in Asia, and then from Greece, and then from Italy itself, and from every corner of the earth-and the annihilation of the Romans will begin with the blood of this virgin.”

The queen turned around and disappeared. The Great Megabyzus and the Grand Magus followed her. The stunned silence was broken only by the sobbing of Amestris and Anthea.

Freny was to be sacrificed in the Grove of the Furies, while I was made to watch in silence.